Grieving
by TheKeyIsLove
Summary: Ginny needs help working through her pain... so she goes to Harry. Set approx six months after DH. Rated T for some suggestions and language.
1. Chapter 1

Harry had always been a light sleeper. Years of waking up in the middle of the night to terrifying nightmares of Lord Voldemort hadn't exactly helped that fact.

So, when someone opened his front door at two in the morning, it took him less than a second to clear his bed. Grabbing his wand and slipping on his spectacles, he quickly crept out of his bedroom. 12 Grimmauld Place was huge, so he might not have woken up at all, except that his room was on the ground floor. Thankfully, this also meant that he didn't have to worry about any squeaky staircases.

It had been a little more than six months since the Battle of Hogwarts, as everyone had come to call it. Perhaps Harry was a bit paranoid, but it could always be a rogue Death Eater… or an angry, vengeful wizard, bent on making Harry suffer for turning them in to the Ministry. Thanks to his new job as an Auror, he had recently become acquainted with plenty of those.

Silently, he slipped into the main hallway just as a shadowed figure rounded the corner. "Harry, put the wand away," a familiar voice said, and Harry blinked.

"Ginny?" he asked, confused. With a soft "lumos" he lit up her face – freckles and all. "What are you doing here at this hour?"

Ginny sighed. "I need a place to stay," she said quietly. Harry looked down and saw that she was holding a small suitcase. When he looked up again, their eyes met briefly. Then Ginny quickly looked away, setting her suitcase down.

Harry lit the hallway lanterns in silence before turning back to his girlfriend. "Why?" he asked carefully. When Ginny bit her lip and shook her head, the young man sighed. "Still that bad?" A silent nod was his only response. Trying not to let his concern show, Harry said, "Kreacher?" Immediately there was a _pop!_ and the old house elf stood before him.

"Master called Kreacher?" the elf asked, his eyes still droopy from sleep.

"Yes. Sorry to wake you, but I need you to fix up a room for Ginny. She's going to be staying with us for a bit, and I'd like her to be comfortable."

Kreacher bowed to the young witch. "Mistress Ginny, Kreacher is most happy to see you." He turned back to Harry. "One moment, Master." With another _pop!_ he vanished.

Harry turned to Ginny and was surprised to find her crying. He pulled her into his arms and held her. "Do you want to tell me?" he asked quietly.

Ginny shook her head and pulled away. Wiping her eyes she said, "Tomorrow."

Harry pulled her close again and squeezed her gently. "Of course."


	2. Chapter 2

Stumbling out of bed at around six, Harry let his nose lead him to the kitchen. When he arrived, Kreacher was already piling Belgium waffles on a plate and fixing a mug of coffee. "Good morning, Master Harry," the elf said cheerfully. Harry nodded and mumbled a reply, still not fully awake. As soon as the food was set before him, he began to eat.

No sooner had he finished his breakfast than the door flew open. "Harry, I'm gonna kill you!" Ron yelled, storming in. He stopped and blinked, seemingly surprised to find his friend going about his daily routine.

Harry just looked at him. "And why, exactly, are you going to kill me?"

Ron had the decency to look embarrassed. "I… I thought Ginny was here… with you," he said lamely.

"She is," Harry replied calmly. As Ron turned purple, Harry finished off his coffee. "But," he added, setting his mug on the counter and standing to face Ron, "I can guarantee you that you're getting worked up about nothing."

"N-Nothing?" Ron sputtered. "You call messing around with my baby sister _NOTHING_?"

"I wasn't 'messing around' with anyone!" Harry shot back. "I gave her a place to stay, that's all."

"And just what is wrong with the Burrow?" Ron demanded.

"I'll tell you what's wrong."

Both men turned to see Ginny standing on the staircase. Her hair was a tangled mess, her clothes were beyond wrinkled, and her expression was livid.

Harry thought she'd never looked so beautiful.

Angrily, she marched down the stairs until she was standing directly in front of her brother. "Do you know what it's like at home?" she demanded. "Mum cries herself to sleep every night. Dad paces his workshop at all hours. And George…" She swallowed hard. "George is like a zombie. He barely eats. He doesn't get enough sleep. He acts like he's… lost." The last word was no more than a broken whisper. Softly she continued, "Charlie's in Romania. Bill has Fleur. You have Hermione… I'm the only one still at home. And I. Can't. Take. Any. More." The words may have been quiet, but Harry could hear the steel in her voice. "So butt-out, Ron. Just… go." And with that she turned and ran back up the stairs.

Ron looked as though he'd been punched in the gut. Harry laid his hand on his friend's shoulder. "I'm sorry," he offered.

"No, I'm sorry, mate. I just didn't realize…"

Harry didn't say anything. It wasn't Ron's fault and Harry knew it. Everyone in the Weasley family dealt with grief differently… Ginny had simply chosen to deal with it alone.

After a moment, Ron said, "I think I'll go home. Maybe I'll talk to George…" Harry nodded and Ron headed for the door. On his way out he paused. "Harry? Just…" he struggled for a moment, and then he sighed. "Treat her right, okay?"

Harry nodded solemnly. "Of course."


	3. Chapter 3

"Knock, knock," Harry called through the closed door. "Can I come in?"

"Yes," came the muffled response.

As he opened the door, he said, "I brought you breakfast." When Ginny didn't move from under the covers, Harry set the tray of food on the bedside table. Then he sat on the bed. "It's tomorrow," he said gently. He heard Ginny sniff. "Gin, you need to talk about it."

Finally, the covers were pushed back and a tear-stained face appeared. "Yeah," she mumbled. Then she looked up with swimming eyes and threw her arms around her boyfriend. Harry simply held her as she cried herself out, stroking her hair soothingly.

At last the tears stopped. "Well, that wasn't exactly talking," Harry said, and Ginny half-laughed, half-sobbed in response.

"No, it wasn't," she agreed, sniffling. "But I feel better."

"Good."

"Besides," she added, "I said it all to Ron. Things are just hard at home right now." She sniffed again and sighed deeply. "I don't know if it will ever end."

"It will," Harry assured her. "It hurts when you lose someone you love, and you think the pain will never go away. But it will. No, you'll never stop missing them," he added truthfully, "but it does get easier to go on with your life. Especially when you realize that they're still with you. And that they'd want you to be happy."

Ginny thought about that for a moment. Then she said, "Fred did like it when we were all happy, didn't he?"

"Yes," Harry said, rocking her gently. "He sure did."

Ginny closed her eyes. "I suppose he would want me to be happy…" she murmured to herself. Harry's only reply was to hold her tighter.

They were both quiet for a long time. Then Ginny yawned.

Harry smiled and let her go. "Go back to sleep, Gin," he said, kissing her hair. He started to get up, but stopped when a hand caught his shirt. He looked up, surprised, to find himself staring into clear hazel eyes.

"Can you stay?"

Harry met her gaze for a long moment. Then leaned in and kissed her.

"Of course."


End file.
